Puppy Sitting
by wizardofahz
Summary: After Cora turns Red into a wolf pup and takes Regina, Snow has to relinquish the puppy to Belle, so she can go after the wretched witch. Very fluffy fic ahead (no pun intended): Red Snow and Red Beauty friendship.


Disclaimer: I don't own _OUAT_ and never will, which makes me sad, but oh well_..._

A/N: This is a ridiculous sort of story. I just wanted to write a combination of Red Snow, Red Beauty, and Red as a wolf pup, and umm... this happened.

Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"Hello, Storybrooke."

Cora looked around the town hall, taking in the pathetic decor.

Charming paid her little attention as he rushed to his wife and daughter, both of whom were slightly disoriented from their trip between worlds.

Regina, on the other hand, stood frozen at the sight of her mother. It was as if she were transported back to her younger years and didn't have a magical bone in her body. Her mind screamed for her to run, but her body betrayed her. Whether it was because of her shock or her mother's magic, she couldn't tell.

"What do you want," Ruby snarled protectively, eyes flashing yellow.

"Ah yes," Cora noted with obvious disdain. "You must be Snow's little lupine friend."

One wave of her hand and a burst of purple smoke later, a tiny black wolf pup stood where Red had been.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like some quality time with my daughter."

And with that, Cora and a very unwilling Regina vanished into thin air.

"We have to find them," Emma said immediately. She'd promised Henry that nothing would happen to Regina, and Cora... Well, Cora was probably the worst thing that could happen to her.

Emma looked to her parents for ideas but found her mother to be preoccupied.

"Hey, Red." Snow smiled down at the puppy in her arms. "It's been a while."

The puppy returned her smile, tongue hanging adorably out of her mouth.

"Umm... Snow?" Emma prompted. That Snow White was her mother had finally sunk in, but calling the woman in question "mother" or "mom" was a different thing entirely.

"We should find Gold," Charming suggested. "He doesn't like Cora either if memory serves, so he should be willing to help us."

"We can't take Red with us," Snow said as she scratched behind the puppy's ears. "It's too dangerous."

"We can take her to Belle's," Charming offered.

While Granny seemed like the obvious choice for Red's caretaker, she was managing the diner alone, and the library was a much calmer and safer place.

Head tilted with confusion, Snow asked, "Who's Belle?"

"One of Ruby's friends. She's the new librarian."

Fairy tale + Belle + books clicked in Emma's head. "Ohhh, _Beauty and the Beast_."

"Emma!" Snow scolded, futilely covering the puppy's ears. "Red is not a beast!"

"I... That's not..." Emma stuttered, her mother's sudden defensiveness catching her off-guard. "I just meant 'Ohhh, Belle from that fairy tale.'"

To get over the sudden awkwardness, she added, "Shouldn't we get going?"

* * *

"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you both," Belle said with a smile after Charming finished the introductions.

"Unfortunately, we can't say the same." Emma replied as she fidgeted impatiently, eager to find Regina and stop Cora.

"We need you to look after Ruby." Charming gestured at the puppy in Snow's arms.

"That's Ruby?"

"Yeah, she was hit by a spell. Do you mind looking after her? We have a rather big issue to attend to."

"Not at all," Belle responded with a wide smile. "We can have girls' night."

Snow eyed the other woman warily. "You'll take good care of her?"

"Of course." Belle leaned in towards the puppy. "Especially since you can't chain me up this time."

"What?" Snow stared at the other woman as Red grinned unabashedly and nuzzled her snout under Snow's chin.

"Snow, we should get going," Charming reminded her, glancing over at their daughter who was still waiting impatiently.

"Right," Snow whispered then reluctantly handed Red over. With a final scratch behind the ears, she told the puppy, "We'll be back soon."

* * *

Belle blearily rubbed her eyes as she searched for Ruby.

To keep the puppy entertained, the two had started their time off together with a few games. After tiring each other out, they'd settled on the couch and ended up taking a nap with Ruby resting in the librarian's arms. When Belle awoke, Ruby was nowhere in sight.

"Ruby!" Belle's eyes widened at the sight in front of her. "Ruby, no!"

Big puppy eyes looked innocently up at her. Ruby had somehow managed to scale up a bookcase to the fourth shelf from the bottom, a book corner clutched in her mouth.

Lifting the puppy from the shelf, Belle carefully extracted the book and placed her back on the floor. "We stay down here and away from the books, all right?"

Ruby didn't seem at all bothered by light scolding and proceeded to run figure eights around Belle's ankles.

"You must be hungry." Belle watched the wolf scamper around. How the little fluffball still had energy, she had no idea. "Time for food?"

* * *

A couple sausages later, play time resumed with the two wrestling playfully on the floor.

Sort of.

Ruby had decided it would be a good idea to lick Belle's face, and the librarian was constantly trying to prevent it. The small wolf persistently tried to get around Belle's arms, and Belle responded by tickling the puppy's tummy.

Suddenly Ruby stilled.

She cocked her head briefly before speeding toward the door.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Belle followed her to see what had gotten the tiny wolf excited.

Red sat in front of the door, tail twitching with anticipation.

Seconds later, she was rewarded. The door opened, and Snow came through, a smile forming as soon as she laid eyes on the waiting wolf.

"Hey, Red," Snow grinned as the puppy ran into her arms.

* * *

Ruby groaned as her senses returned to her.

The last thing she remembered was Cora and...

"Snow!"

Red sat up quickly, her eyes snapping open to see her best friend crouched next to her. Laughing in relief, Snow pulled the younger woman into her arms.

Red wholeheartedly returned the hug. "You're back! What happened? Where's Cora?"

"Taken care of," Emma replied, and Ruby noticed the former mayor standing beside the blonde looking slightly worse for wear but not too bad off.

"Belle's been looking after you," Charming said, as he smiled down at her.

"Hey, Ruby," Belle said from where she stood awkwardly behind everyone else.

Ruby's eyes flitted from person to person. "Why?"

"Cora turned you into a wolf pup, but Regina changed you back," Snow explained.

Ruby cringed slightly. "I hope I didn't do anything embarrassing."

Belle grinned. "Other than trying to lick my face, no."

"What?" Once again, Snow stared at the librarian.

Ruby groaned. If she was going to live this down, she needed a few cocktails.

"Who's up for girls' night?"

* * *

fin

_Thanks for reading!_


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